Oscar Ghillione
Oscar Ghillione remembers Hernán, his civics teacher at Colegio San Pablo, as one of the people who shaped his relationship with education. His classes showed him that teaching with enthusiasm could encourage questions and help students imagine other possibilities for their lives.
Before entering education, Ghillione studied Business Administration and worked in the private sector. In 2009, he co-founded Enseñá por Argentina, an organization that recruits and trains professionals to work in schools serving vulnerable communities.
He later pursued further qualifications and took on responsibilities in higher education and public administration. His former teacher’s influence remained part of his explanation for choosing that path.
From business to education
He graduated in 2002, worked for four years in the family business, completed an MBA and received a scholarship to study in Spain. On returning, he joined a software company.
A friend told him about Teach For America, the US organization that recruits university graduates to teach in schools serving disadvantaged communities. Ghillione explored the model, prepared a proposal to develop it in Argentina and left his job to focus on the project.
Enseñá por Argentina began in 2009, with him as co-founder and executive director. Concern about the difficulties young people faced in completing secondary school helped drive that decision.
The figure of 44% not completing secondary education appeared in the Premio Abanderados presentation of his work. It belongs to the context in which his initiative was publicized and should not be treated as a current measurement of Argentina’s education system.
Preparing professionals for the classroom
The organization developed a two-year social and educational leadership program. Its work included selecting professionals, preparing them to teach and supporting them in schools, in collaboration with teachers and educational communities.
In its early years, training combined intensive sessions with ongoing support. A La Nación article published in 2016 described activities in González Catán and Villa Soldati, alongside the participation of more than two hundred professionals and an estimated reach of fifteen thousand students. Those figures describe that period rather than the present.
The program also sought to create a lasting connection with education. Participants could continue teaching or carry that commitment into other fields.
Further study and educational leadership
Ghillione discussed his teacher’s influence in the TEDx Río de la Plata talk “Teachers Who Leave a Mark.” He also received recognition from Premio Abanderados and participated in initiatives recognizing the importance of teaching.
His subsequent education included a master’s degree in Educational Public Policy at Torcuato Di Tella University and a teaching qualification for secondary and higher education. His Austral University profile states that he is pursuing a doctorate in Education.
At Austral, he directs the master’s program in Educational Institution Leadership and postgraduate specializations in Educational Institution Leadership and Educational Innovation Management. These roles place part of his work in preparing people to lead educational organizations.
Public administration
Ghillione also serves as undersecretary for Educational Planning and Innovation at the Buenos Aires City Ministry of Education, according to its official organizational chart.
That role carries responsibilities different from those involved in running a social organization. Decisions take place within a public system, with its own teams, procedures and institutional authority.
His career therefore brings together three areas of education: an organization’s work with schools, university-level professional development and government administration.
The memory of a teacher
When explaining the origins of his vocation, Ghillione returns to Hernán. Years after leaving school, he sought him out to thank him for what his classes had meant.
That memory has a specific place in his story: it helps explain why, after studying and working in business, he chose to devote his career to education.
A personal experience became a project shared with other professionals, teachers and schools. His career traces that transition: from recognizing one teacher’s influence to working on the conditions that help more students find support and opportunities in the classroom.